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Vernellia R. RandallProfessor of Law
The University of Dayton

A History of Immigration LawRegarding People of ColorDiana Vellos
Excerpted from: Immigrant Latina Domestic Workers and
Sexual Harassment, American University Journal of Gender and the
Law 407, 414-418 (Spring, 1997)(citations omitted)

The history of immigration law in the United States provides
an interesting backdrop from which to analyze this country's
views of race and class, which are often reflected in laws
concerning immigration. One example of this connection
is the laws concerning denial of benefits to undocumented
people in the United States. Such laws began taking
form when people of color began immigrating to the United
States in large numbers from developing nations.
During the settlement of the colonies, immigrants arrived
freely, limited only by the cost of travel, diseases, and
the harsh environment found in the colonies. In the
years before the American Revolution, immigrants came to the
colonies from England, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, and
Portugal. During this period, slaves from Africa were
also forcibly brought to this country. The only
immigration restrictions at this time were on criminals and
public charges. These restrictions illustrated the
hostility felt towards newcomers by colonists who had only
just arrived themselves. Immigration was, however,
still favored to the extent that the colonies needed more
people for labor and development. It is important to
note that extensive federal legislation dealing with
immigration was not enacted for some time. At first it
was unclear whether the federal government was given the
authority by the Constitution to regulate immigration.
Also, unrestricted immigration was still desirable as a
means for obtaining labor and achieving growth as a
nation. Discontent with an open immigration policy
increased with the tremendous rate of immigration and with
the change in the composition of immigrants. Between
1820 and 1880, political and economic conditions brought
over 2.8 million Irish immigrants to the United
States. German Catholic immigrants also came during
the 1840s. American society did not accept the Irish
Catholics and Germans, and movements to limit immigration
began to form. After the Civil War, federal law began
to reflect the growing desire to restrict immigration of
certain groups. In 1875, Congress passed the first
restrictive statute for immigration, barring convicts and
prostitutes from admission. The 1875 Act also
attempted to deal with the problem of Chinese labor in the
West. Imported Chinese labor had been used since 1850,
and the tension between the Chinese workers and the settlers
of European descent ran high. Congress adopted a law
outlawing so-called "coolie- labor" contracts and
immigration for lewd and immoral purposes. In 1882,
Congress took even stronger action in the Chinese Exclusion
Act, the nation's first racist, restrictive immigration
law. The Act suspended all immigration of Chinese
laborers for ten years and forbade any court to admit
Chinese people for citizenship. The Chinese Exclusion
Act was finally repealed in 1943. Immigration was now
seen as a threat to the United States economy, and Congress
began expanding the list of "undesirable classes"
hoping to upgrade the quality of immigrants and to limit
overall entry.

Despite these efforts to decrease the flow,
immigration continued to flourish in the United States
during this time. By 1920 nearly 14 million out of the
105 million people living in the United States were
foreigners. From this wave, Japanese immigrants
experienced the worst state and federal antagonism. The
Gentleman's Agreement of 1907, an accord between the United
States and Japan to restrict Japanese migration, effectively
ended the influx of Japanese nationals to the United
States. California state law reinforced this
anti-Japanese sentiment by prohibiting Japanese immigrants
from owning property or leasing farmland. After World
War I, Congress enacted the Quota Act, which limited
the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States
to three percent of their nationality already residing in
the country. Three years later, Congress decided to
lower the quota to two percent. In 1942, California
created the "Bracero Program," a Mexican
labor program that allowed California agricultural employers
to temporarily contract with approximately two million
Mexican nationals for their labor in the fields. The
agricultural industry benefited from this cheap labor until
1964, long after World War I ended. In spite of the
Bracero Program, between 1939 and 1954, the INS deported
three million undocumented and documented Mexican immigrants
and U.S. citizens through an anti-Mexican campaign known as
"Operation Wetback."

In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and
Control Act (IRCA). The Act focused almost exclusively
on illegal immigration. The IRCA dealt with
undocumented aliens by imposing sanctions on employers,
while simultaneously legalizing the status of undocumented
entrants who had arrived prior to January 1, 1982. The
IRCA also included provisions prohibiting discrimination on
the basis of national origin or citizenship. Despite
all of the provisions, the IRCA did not substantially
restructure the immigration law as it pertained to immigrant
and non-immigrant visas. The employer-sanction
provisions of the Act penalize a person or entity who, for a
fee, hires, recruits, or refers for employment an alien in
the United States, knowing the alien is unauthorized, or who
employs any individual without complying with the Act's
employment verification system. Employers are also
sanctioned if after hiring an alien, the employer continues
to employ him or her knowing the alien has since become
unauthorized. In the last few years, newly enacted
immigration legislation has been motivated by rising
anti-immigrant sentiments in the United States. In 1996, the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA)
was passed. AEDPA is a comprehensive bill targeting
terrorism and other crimes. The bill expands the grounds of
deportability for immigrants convicted of crimes and narrows
previous forms of relief. The anti-immigrant sentiment
also surfaced in the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. This Act,
known as the "welfare reform" bill, made major
changes in the public benefits available to legal
immigrants. The Act makes even permanent residents
ineligible for most federal benefits. Congress
intended for the Act to encourage self-sufficiency and
remove the supposed "extra incentive" for
migrating to the United States either legally or
illegally.

The rise of anti-immigrant legislation continued
with the enactment of the Illegal Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA). IIRAIRA is a sweeping piece of
immigration reform which focuses on the quick removal of
undocumented immigrants. IIRAIRA allows for an increase in
criminal penalties for immigration-related offenses and
enhanced enforcement authority. The main objectives of the
Act are to allow for expedited removal process upon entry,
withdrawal of judicial review for certain forms of relief,
expansion of the definition of aggravated felony, benefit
limitations for non-citizens, and time limitations for
filing asylum claims. The implication of this new
legislation will be far reaching and will have a negative
impact on many non- citizens. Unfortunately, it is yet to be
seen how these new provisions will be enforced through the
Immigration and Naturalization Service and the courts.

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Thanks to Derrick Bell and his pioneer work:
Race, Racism and American Law (1993).